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There are currently 24 member reviews
for Strangers in Budapest
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Judy K. (Conroe, TX)
Unappealing
I found this book hard to finish. It's not that I insist on a happy book or happy ending, but page after page of doom and gloom makes for an unappealing read for me. I was, at first, hopeful that I would enjoy the story because the premise was promising: a young couple with a baby leaving their home and secure future to take a huge financial risk in a rapidly developing economy in Hungary. It's something I wish I could've done, so the initial plot line pulled me in. But, then, the story deteriorated when the main character, Annie, became, in my opinion, unrealistically involved with an old man who exhibited personality traits most people would've considered crazy. Most people would not have gotten caught up in this demented old man's scheme of revenge. I ended up disliking almost everyone in the book and the ending most of all. It felt like the author had painted herself into a corner and the only way out was to wrap things up quickly. I couldn't recommend this to anyone.
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RI, (Saddle River, NJ)
Monotonous in Budapest
The jacket of this book says "Budapest: gorgeous city of secrets, with ties to a shadowy, bloody past." What a great premise for a novel but what a disappointment to read. A husband and wife decide to sell everything in America and move to Budapest, along with their infant son, to start a new life. The story basically revolves around Annie, the wife, and how she becomes entangled with a man who is seeking revenge on his son in law. Exactly who the son in law is becomes the big mystery of the book, but sadly, not that hard to figure out before the end. None of the characters are thoroughly developed and Annie is a whiny, self-absorbed person who you tire of very quickly. I found the book to be redundant and the few times that I felt like it was finally taking off, it only fell flat again. I have never been to Budapest, but after reading this book I don't think I ever will because Keener's descriptions of the city and people are very dark, dismal and dirty. On top of all of this, the ending is very predictable. I'm sorry to say that I would not recommend this book.
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Virginia P. (Tallahassee, FL)
Strangers in Budapest
The jacket of this book calls the story "riveting" and "provocative." I would not go that far. Having been to Budapest and seen the communist era architecture as well as the absolutely stunning architecture of the earlier days, I felt it was a place I could return to over and over. I was surprised that the only feeling about the city I got from the author was that she did not like Budapest for her own personal reasons which she expressed through her character, Annie. She gave it a bad rap. Aside from that, I felt the characters with the exception of Edward Weiss were shallowly drawn. This story, with more development, could have been so much more than it was and I do not feel that I could recommend the book.
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